Property, Plant and Equipment and Leasehold Intangibles, Net

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Property, Plant and Equipment and Leasehold Intangibles, Net [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment and Leasehold Intangibles, Net

7. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leasehold Intangibles, Net

Property, plant and equipment and leasehold intangibles, net, which include assets under capital leases, consist of the following (dollars in thousands):

	March 31, 2012			December 31, 2011
Land	$	285,703		$	275,277
Buildings and improvements		3,207,881			3,080,882
Leasehold improvements		407,852			429,133
Furniture and equipment		464,098			450,179
Resident and leasehold operating intangibles		163,366			163,366
Construction in progress		50,300			39,600
Assets under capital and financing leases		674,337			667,239
		5,253,537			5,105,676
Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(1,460,153	)		(1,411,612	)
Property, plant and equipment and leasehold intangibles, net	$	3,793,384		$	3,694,064

Long-lived assets with definite useful lives are depreciated or amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives (or, in certain cases, the shorter of their estimated useful lives or the lease term) and are tested for impairment whenever indicators of impairment arise.

During the three months ended March 31, 2012, there were indicators of impairment on certain long-lived assets (primarily as a result of fire damage at one of the Company's communities). The Company wrote-off assets not deemed to be recoverable. A non-cash charge of $1.1 million within the Assisted Living and CCRCs segments was recorded in the Company's operating results and reflected as asset impairment in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations. These charges are reflected as a decrease to the gross carrying value of the asset. The impairment charges are primarily due to the amount by which the carrying values of the assets exceed the estimated fair value.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for long-lived, physical assets that are used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and other types of furniture and equipment including, but not limited to, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment and software. This disclosure may include property plant and equipment accounting policies and methodology, a schedule of property, plant and equipment gross, additions, deletions, transfers and other changes, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, net, accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization expense and useful lives, income statement disclosures, assets held for sale and public utility disclosures.

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